Office of Gov. Dave Freudenthal
Press Secretary Jonathan Green
State Capitol, Room 124
Cheyenne, WY • 82002
307-777-7434
February 8, 2010
******
For Immediate Release ******
** Audio attached **
Contact: Press
Secretary Jonathan Green
Phone: 307-777-7437
Mobile: 307-421-0197
E-mail:
jgreen3@state.wy.us
Gov.
Freudenthal outlines proposals to level playing field for wind energy
generation
CHEYENNE,
Wyo. – Gov. Dave Freudenthal continues to advocate that the Wyoming Legislature
pass four bills to level the playing field for wind energy generators operating
in Wyoming, addressing two of those bills during his State of the State address
Monday morning.
Audio clip 100208c-SOS-Gov_Free-ride.mp3
(125kb; :07)
Noting the generous federal subsidies for wind energy production and
the fact that other producers do pay taxes to offset their local impacts, Freudenthal
said: “They are not entitled to a free ride. This is the first opportunity that
this state has had in my lifetime to actually diversify its tax base.”
Audio clip 100208d-SOS-Gov_Vote-who.mp3
(412kb; :26)
The Governor challenged Legislators to stand with their constituents
when voting on a proposed $3 per megawatt-hour tax on wind energy. Freudenthal:
“At the end of the day, the decision you are confronting is, are you going to
end up siding with the former Vice President [Al Gore] and his movie, or are
you going to side with the County Commissioners in this state, the people who
need the money, the people who are dealing with the impact? And are you going
to side with future generations who are entitled to have the opportunity – the
opportunity – to live in this state, in a tax environment such as we have
today? I would encourage you to think very hard before you reject this
proposal.”
Audio clip 100208e-SOS-Gov_Eminent-domain.mp3
(315kb; :20)
Freudenthal explained how eminent domain authority can be abused in
negotiating land routes for power transmission lines: “When they [wind
producers] say to you, ‘Well, we don’t use eminent domain,’ the truth is, we
have not used a nuclear bomb in this country since World War II. But the
existence of the nuclear bomb has colored every discussion about international
and national security. The same is true with regard to eminent domain. The fact
that it is not used does not mean it is not a part of the conversation.”
A full transcript of the
address as well as additional audio will be forthcoming.
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